Has anyone had a laptop that shuts down if it over heats? I've had it almost 2 years now. It's a Gateway. I brought it to Best Buy about 3 months ago to fix after spilling a soda on it. For the past 3 or 4 weeks it's been shutting down on its own. I'm assuming it's because of overheating because I'll put my hand on the bottom and it's almost too hot to touch.

Is this a common thing? Or did they do something to it when I turned it over to Best Buy? By the way... The experience I had with Best Buy and this laptop has caused me to no longer buy electronics there so I don't want to bring it there if I don't have to.

I just got a laptop a couple months ago and the first thing I noticed is that there are all kinds of sleep modes on it, depending on if it is plugged in or not, too.
Did they monkey with your settings, Jen? Maybe it is shutting down, hibernating or going into sleep mode more quickly than it used to.

Most newer computers do have the automatic overheat shutdown feature. My HP does and my new Dell does. Check the fan on it and also make sure all the vents and fans are clean and dust free. Also, never put it on a soft surface that might cover the vents or on your lap where the vent is covered.
If you are putting it on a hard surface with clearance for the vents and it is overheating (it should not be that hot to the touch which is why I think it is overheating), then you may need to either clean it real good or get new fans. If it was never kept clean to begin with, the bearings probably got gunked up and the rmps on the fan are too low for it to properly cool things like the memory and cpu.
Another thing to consider, silly as it may sound, is that if you had such a bad experience with Best Buy you may want to check and make sure they actually hooked the fans back up properly... or for that matter if they messed with the motherboard that they properly grounded it. Too much resistance because of insufficient grounding screws will also cause overheating. I found with my HP if I elevate it by placing something under the rear of the laptop it will not overheat. IE proping up the back of the laptop so the front is flat on the surface and the back is up a couple of inches minimum. This might help until you get it fixed.

Mav is right - most computers will shut down if the temp gets too high inside. It's a lot better than a fried CPU because it gives you a heads up that something's amiss. The newer your laptop (and hence the more powerful) the greater amount of heat it generates. Dust makes that worse. Propping it as Mav said is a very good way to keep it running cooler, as is a laptop cooling pad.

Go with what mav says and also check to see if the actual fan is spinning. The soda could have caused the bearings to stick thus not allowing it to spin and properly cool the machine.

In order to do so, you have to open the laptop and take it apart to see if the fans are spinning. Also since you took it to best buy, make sure they hooked everything back up. I have made that mistake here at work and for got to hook up stuff.

college students are your friends. Find one in your neighborhood that is going into computers and see if he/she will help you out.

Laptops are not supposed to get "that" hot. Maybe something in the bios was turned off for fan controls.